


A Matter of Numbers

by Rioghna



Category: 101 Dalmatians - All Media Types, Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: F/M, Fluff, One Shot, Puppies, Red/Cricket, Tooth-Rotting Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-01-30
Updated: 2015-01-30
Packaged: 2018-03-09 16:04:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,638
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3256019
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rioghna/pseuds/Rioghna
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When the curse breaks, Archie suddenly discovers he has a growing puppy problem, and goes to the one person who can help.  </p><p>Enemies and Friends!verse, post Curse</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Matter of Numbers

**Author's Note:**

  * For [BardicRaven](https://archiveofourown.org/users/BardicRaven/gifts).



A Problem of Numbers

Storybrooke, Maine had seen many strange things, some stranger than others. But for Archie Hopper, formerly known as Jiminy Cricket the most unsettling thing had been finding out that Pongo had a mate, one Perdita and an alarmingly growing brood of puppies. He wasn't honestly certain even how to react to the situation. When she had first turned up at his door, he'd been surprised. His first thought, Pongo was the only dalmatian in town. The second was that she was lost and needed to be returned to her owner. It was possible after all, he didn't know everyone.

But when he had tried to take her to the animal shelter, both dogs had growled at him, something that had not happened since...well, ever. That was a shock all it's own. Pongo wasn't one to growl at anyone, he even liked Mr. Gold...er Rumplestiltskin, depending on how you looked at it. 

Anyway, it had taken no time after that for Archie to notice that she had a red collar that matched exactly the one Pongo had come with, and her name was on it. At that point he just decided it was one of those side effects of the breaking of the curse, after all, this was Storybrooke. Could dogs have true love, he wondered, shrugged and put it down to a question to ask Rumplestiltskin if he ever got the chance. 

He'd not made the association himself, not at first at least. While he was more conversant with the Disney films than most adults, having children as a part of his practice, he was more familiar with those based on the fairytales that were life in the world he had been born and raised in. So, blessedly unaware, he had accepted that he now had a pair of dalmatians to share his life, took Perdita to the local veterinarian for a check up and bought an extra dog bed for his office, along with the necessary accessories. If he was slightly wistful as he sat on his couch at the end of the day, both dogs next to him, it was only because his dog had managed to find a mate, while he couldn't even manage to ask the young lady he liked on a date. Well, he supposed life could be much worse. 

But in Storybrooke, it was never that simple. The next day, while he was walking his now set of dalmatians in the park, they had been disturbed by the sound of whining in the bushes, which of course both dogs had gone to explore. Before he knew it, both dogs were nose first in a bush that had concealed, yes, a dalmatian, a puppy this time. 

Now Archie ( he'd decided he liked his knew name, as it distanced him further from the parents that had named him) was a kind hearted man and the way Pongo and Perdita were sniffing a licking the little fellow, he decided he best just take it along with them. That had been four days and eight puppies ago, and Archie was beginning to panic. He'd pulled out the movie and watched it, checked out both the original novel and the Disney version from the library and was starting to realise that he was going to need help, immediately. At best, both versions agreed that the original single litter had contained fifteen. The thought of trying to raise fifteen puppies in his small apartment was more than he could cope with, and he was running out of slippers. 

He needed help and he needed it now, and if anyone could help him, it would have to be the Dark One himself. After all, who else would know about how the small town was suddenly being overrun with dalmatian pups, or at least the town psychologist was. 

"Animals?" Rumplestiltskin asked, confused. That in itself was a rare sight. "There were a few transformations that held over when the curse struck...that young mouse that drives the tow truck, a couple of the ambulance crew, maybe a few others but," he shrugged. 

"No, not animal transformations, per se, but some kind of magic that...I don't know but it's got to be. I mean, not that there is anything wrong with Pongo and Perdita, but..." he trailed off distractedly. 

If anything, Rumplestiltskin was even more confused. Archie wasn't making a lot of sense. Belle came into the shop at just that moment, and with a single look, took over the situation. "Rumple, take the poor man into the back and I'll get you both a cup of tea. I can watch the counter while you talk." Archie looked almost pathetically grateful, while Rumplestiltskin didn't look particularly thrilled. However, he had nothing against the cricket, and it was what Belle wanted, which was almost always good enough for him. 

After Archie's explanation, Rumplestiltskin was none the wise. "I'm not even aware of dalmations existing in the Enchanted Forest, and I traveled extensively in my time. If it's some kind of magic, it most certainly isn't mine," he said indignantly. 

"But isn't there something...Is there a way to maybe at least communicate with them or something, anything? I love Pongo, and Perdita, well, she's lovely, and so are the puppies, but I'm not sure how much more I can take," Archie begged. 

"There's..." the sorcerer started. He was going to turn the man down of course. But then his gaze fell on Belle, watching from the curtain that divided the front from the back of the shop. She wanted him to help, he could tell. Cursing internally, he found himself agreeing to see what he could do. 

"What has become of the world when the all powerful Dark One is reduced to trying to talk to a dog?" he growled under his breath as Belle helped him into his coat. 

"You've becomes part of it, now go on. I'll watch the shop and maybe, when you get back I will show you exactly how much I appreciate my all powerful sorcerer," she whispered into his ear before giving him a wicked look and a promising kiss. That was really all it ever took. 

''I'll hold you to that, sweetheart," he said as he gathered the leather satchel that held a few things he thought might help, just in case. 

Rumplestiltskin was still wondering what it was all about, when, as they crossed the street to Archie's office, they were accosted by...yes, a dalmantian pup. The little creature looked from one of them to the other, yipped once, and planted herself right in the path of the two men, wagging and looking back and forth between them. With a sigh, Archie picked her up. "This makes nine, not counting the two adults. I don't know what I am going to do with them. I just hope there aren't really one hundred and one of them. The town can't sustain that many, and I most certainly can't. 

"Let's worry about that when we get there, but for now, " he nodded toward the stairs, and Archie led the way. 

After introductions had been made, the Sorcerer's hand licked politely by both adults and Perdita and her brood sent into the other room to welcome the new puppy properly, he set to work. 

"There is most definitely magic here," he said after a careful examination. "I couldn't feel it before, of course, with the curse. But it's not only not mine, but it's not native to the Enchanted Forest at all, neither is Pongo, which I think we both knew already. Can you get me one of the puppies, any of them will do." 

"What are you..." Archie asked, only slightly concerned. 

"Nothing to worry about, Dr. Hopper. I just want to establish that they are Pongo's, and if they are from the same world. I won't hurt it, I like dogs, actually. It's people I'm not terribly fond of."

Archie found that oddly reassuring but he didn't ask further. Actually he didn't even want to think about it. Psychoanalyzing the Dark One was extremely high on his list of things to avoid. Some things no one should know. He returned quickly with the little female they had found on the walk over. She was pretty evenly covered with spots, uniformly about the size of pennies, and seemed to have a liking for Rumplestiltskin, jumping straight into his arms. 

"There, little dearie," he said with a gentle smile that quite surprised the cricket. He'd only ever heard that voice from the imp when it involved his beloved librarian. The imp performed a few every esoteric...things and nodded in satisfaction. "And, that's done. You can returned her to her mum," he said, trying to hand the wiggling shape back to Archie. The puppy wasn't having any of it, but finally they managed to make the transfer and Archie got her back in the other room. 

"Well?" he asked. 

"The puppy is definitely Pongo's, and also, unsurprisingly, from whatever realm he hails from."

"Okay, so what's next?" the red head asked. 

"Now, I try to talk to a dog, or specifically, since as near as I can tell, Pongo appears to come from a realm where animals have much better understanding of human language, much better than they do here, at any rate..." he said with a flourish. Purple smoke engulfed Archie's television and the set turned on, but to no station that had ever come from the Storybrooke Cable System. "Now, Pongo, do you know who I am?" he asked the dog. An image appeared on the screen, Rumplestiltskin in all his impish glory, just as he had been in the Enchanted Forest. 

"What?"

"Hush, remember, he sees the world very much differently than we do. Now, I want you to show me what happened." Suddenly the television lit up with a blurr of images, all at once, running overtop of one another. "Slow down," Rumplestiltskin ordered and the images slowed. The story, like all of their stories, but not. 

Archie tried to grasp what he was seeing but he couldn't hold on to it. Still Rumplestiltskin seemed to understand. The old sorcerer grimaced at...something. "Ugh, no wonder I didn't recognise that kind of magic," he said with disgust, but he continued to watch.

The psychologist couldn't seem to get ahold of what was happening. Instead he decided he'd just ask when it was over. It was probably better. 

 

When Rumplestiltskin had finished viewing the images, he shut down the screen, and suggested that Archie let the rest of the dogs in while they talked. "I'll take it that you didn't get that, but it might be easier to hear it. Don't suppose you have any scotch about the place? I need a drink, and possibly a shower," the older man said with a shudder.  
Archie released the rest of the brood, and went to find where he kept some moderate whiskey. He'd never been much of a drinker but sometimes it helped. This was probably one of those times. When he came back into the office, he was surprised to see that, while Pongo had settled in his usual place next to Archie's chair, and Perdita was in the middle of the floor, (she was still trying to figure out where she wanted her place to be), two of the puppies were even now tussling over the laces to the man's terribly expensive wing tips, while the little girl had managed to get onto the couch beside him and was just curled up as if for a nap. The rest of the brood was tumbled about the floor in various positions, two of them tugging on the remains of one of Archie's house slippers, but that was to be expected. He started to remove the puppies, to apologise or something, but the other man waved him off. "Leave them, their causing no harm," he said. "I'll have that drink though, and then I'll tell ye a story. Fortunately, like all good fairy stories, it has a happy ending." 

Two days later, Archie was out walking the dogs. It had taken a couple of days to come to grips with what was happening and even then it still gave him shivers, and he would feel the need to pet the nearest dog, or puppy. That a sorcerous of the darkest sort had been kidnapping puppies to make a magic coat to keep her beautiful forever, it was a kind of darkness that made him shiver. That it was magic dark enough to disgust Rumplestiltskin reinforced his opinion that he never wanted to be anywhere near the realm that they had been rescued from, for rescued they had been. Apparently someone had helped them (that part was a little vague, but Rumplestiltskin said that Pongo was better at sensing magic than he was at expressing it) and had returned all the puppies to their original homes. But something had gone wrong in returning Pongo and Perdie and their brood. "Could have been that the transportation spell, especially if it was crossing realms, somehow got crossed with the curse, rather like crossed wires on an old fashioned telephone. That I cannot tell you. But the good news from your perspective, and that of the rest of the town I am sure, is that there are only fifteen puppies." 

"Only fifteen, the man said," Archie muttered to himself. Admittedly fifteen was better than one hundred and one or two, but of course, Rumplestiltskin didn't have to walk them. Now he was trying to keep from getting tangled, trying to get the puppies to move in more or less a straight line. Not only that, but Ruby Lucas was coming towards him. Archie had long harboured a secret crush on the wolf girl, but he was too shy to actually invite her out. Still, he didn't want to look like a complete fool in front of her. Fat chance, that, trying to walk this lot. Archie decided he would settle for not losing any of them or getting tangled and falling at her feet. 

Just when he thought he might succeed, as Ruby was drawing beside him, mouth opened, hand up to say hello, the dogs all broke in different directions. Archie was doing the best he could just to hang on to everyone, and before he knew it, they had roped Ruby in as well. Now the two of them were completely tangled up in leashes and dogs. Archie thought he was going to die of embarrassment, right there, but Ruby suddenly broke out laughing. 

"Wow, Archie, I knew you were a dog lover but," she laughed. "They are adorable, how did you manage this, last I knew you only had Pongo."

"That's right, you haven't been around the last few day," he stuttered a little. Suddenly, Pongo stuck a cold nose pointedly in his back, causing him to step even closer to the lovely woman. "Ummm, it's...kind of a long story. Can I, if I can get us untied, I mean, would you like to hear it over coffee? My treat." 

Ruby laughed happily. "I'd love to. Actually, we could just sit on the deck at Granny's, then these guys can join us. They are kind of cute."

"Alright then."

Across the street in front of the pawnshop, Rumplestiltskin and Belle were standing together as he opened to door. The big dalmatian looked at the sorcerer, and seemed to wink. 

"Do you think they will figure out they've been set up by a pair of dogs?" Belle asked. His lady was always the smart one. 

"Probably, but not until they watch the movie again," he said, as he opened the door and guided his own true love inside.

**Author's Note:**

> So, this is almost entirely my sister, BardicRaven's fault so this is dedicated to her. (and maybe a little bit of reading Crysania's Puppy Bowl story at an odd hour). It started with a conversation about, since Pongo is in Storybrooke, where are the rest of the puppies, and the line 'the all powerful Dark One reduced to talking to dogs' at about three o'clock this morning. Okay, the insomnia is probably partially responsible as well. Please read, comment, and all that kind of things. 
> 
> Also, in thanks to my sister for my lovely Avatar that she made me.


End file.
